Views/comments on Max and/or open source for uni project.
Having learned so much from the Max community/forums I've decided to base my dissertation on how tools created using easy access/open source materials compare to high price manufacturers. To do this, I have had to rely heavily on this community/forum to learn about Max and solve various issues whilst returning the favour and helping others, where I can. For my write-up I would like to talk about the views of everyone involved in the community including those who have just started using the community/forums or those who spend time debugging patches or producing free code.
I would appreciate anything you have to say about the community/forums, open-source software or high price manufactured products. Here's a few questions to help but feel free to to talk about what you want :)
How have the communities/forums helped you? Why do you provide open source software instead of charging? Did you get involved with Max to create a tool cheaper than it would be to purchase or because nothing else was available? How do the tools created in open-source/Max compare against high price manufacturers? What are the benefits/disadvantages of using Max/open-source code to create sellable products? How much time do you think you spend helping on the forums in a week?
Many thanks
Hi Jamie
from Max 2.5 : as beginner with computers and Max, without the forum, the apple would stay covered of dust : unusable.
- i'm not developper. Max was for me.
- unvaluable benefit : share many different thinks, much more than solve Max tricks.
- i couldn't help so much: the answers to my problems was given on the maillist before i founded the solution. :-)
- lucky to continue with max, updated and augmented by cycling74 : thanks !
from Max to a commercial appli :
10% : crunch sound or pictures.
90 % : store and recall states, & the UI. haha
90 % : make the pdf.
90 % phone disponibility.
My approach is to make tools, and the user ( me i.e. ) solves the artistic part.
IMHO a commercial appli needs low level programmation. More than one person on the job.
But a "prototypic" tool in Max makes effective professionnal work.
And first: the artisanal happiness to modify the hammer to my hand.
friendly
michel z
sorry for my frenglish zz
Hi Mizu, thanks for the comments, and your frenglish is very good :) I agree with what you say about Max being unusable but the forums/community also helped me understand the software and even think about buying it (I have a student licence from uni).
Having "more than one person on the job" is definitely true, but part of my project is about how the internet can give users access to the biggest team of smart people, ideas and code :) I am building a DJ system using Max for audio/data processing with an Arduino Uno expanded to 92 pins for hardware inputs. This is a really ambitious project and I chose to do it because I couldn't do this by myself in the short time I have. Due to the support and information I have been given, or found, I now believe that I will have a working prototype to submit!! :D
I also think that commercial applications need low-level language and Max is great for prototyping. Without any experience of this; I was wondering about the standalone packages that Max can create and what you/anyone have to say about them?
Could you explain why you mean about enjoying the artistic/artisan part, please? I can think of quite a lot of ways in which Max offers artistic opportunities :) I enjoy making the objects and cables look visually appealing, though 'm a minimalist when it comes to colour which use mainly for the cables so they are easier to understand.
Thanks
Jamie
Hi Jamie
thanks to be friendly with my "frenglish :)
I wanted to say : Max & the computer aleas without the maillist : unusable. With the maillist : yes ! To know i'm not alone in the world to reboot, and reboot, and reboot is not paranoid, but shares some compassion with unknown but friendly peoples, giving answers...
For me, what you can learn to understand Max is full of sense to access to other programs. of lower level.
A standalone is effective to realise your mind and your project, i believe i can say it.
Max has obligations a finished project doesn't : realtime programmation without to recompile, strate of visual UI, etc.
Clearly, a Max standalone isn't so fast like a C#nn compiled application. But well made, it runs.
- Artist/artisan is my way to think : Max with an empty white window says to me : what do you want really ? Action, not reaction to the standards of the industry..
The next question was : do i make a tool, or an instrument ? Do i define an esthetic ? Does the tool open the mind, or close the imagination ?
For me, if the program disappears behind the expression of the user : goal !
NB: generally, the user is myself, the discussion between the artisan ( me in the morning) and the artist ( me in the evening) can be "hot".
Maybe personnal philosophy, no need to convince anyone, just happy to share opened questions.
Today, i think the need goes thru the hand : what manual gesture, interface to the machine. The treatments (i.e. of audio) are dispatched in every boxes, amplis, loudspeakers etc.. What do i need in realtime under my fingers ? In real accurate time ? No need to know where the treatment is done, do i have acces to it ? Little box like Arduino is an intelligent way to think proximity to the user/player, and reactivity of the command.
--haha... hope not to waste to much the debate with my litterature
friendly
michel
Hi Michel,
Thank you for your response and I'm sorry for the delay in replying. Your explanations have really helped me to understand more about Max and the community and I am grateful for that :) You made some very good points, especially about Max being a way to understand programming and lower-level languages. Using Max to create my own projects has helped spark my interest in learning to programme again. I can relate to your philosophy about being an artisan and I'm sure many other people will too :)
I saw an interesting comment about Max and would like to ask you about it. It said that early versions of Max didn't have all the objects that are available today so users either made their own externals or looked for one. It continued saying that, over time, Max has brought a lot of those externals into the main software. Would you agree with this? How has Max changed for you since Max 2.5?
I see that you use an Arduino and I am working on a project that uses an Arduino Uno expanded to over 90 pins using two Mux shields. A friend of mine had to virtually re-write firmata.to be able to do this but it is now fully functioning. He wants to do a bit more tweaking with it before he releases it as open-source but I can send you a copy if you're interested in a project that requires one or two Mux shields?
Many thanks again
Jamie